Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hungary
1118 Budapest, Ménesi street 9/a.
Policies and statements
Privacy policy
Competition Law Statement
Code of Ethics
World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) National Partner
Saint-Gobain has implemented a unique biodiversity programme at its mine in Pilisvörösvár, and on 8 April, BCSDH member companies had the opportunity to visit the main sites.
After a welcome speech by Daniel Domini, CEO of Saint-Gobain Hungary Kft., László Karafa, Quarry and Sustainability Manager, gave a short introductory presentation, and then we were able to see the programme in action. In addition to the 5 hectares of wooded area and 2000 m2 of water surface, the old explosives warehouse has been converted into a bat roost, and birds are also a favourite nesting site, with the bird boxes being 80% used. The area is also used periodically for beehives, which are a priority for flowering and pollination.
On the 1-hectare lawn created in 2002 – optimized for the size of the area – 5 rack sheep graze the grass, and they happily accept apples, they almost expect them from visitors.
In the last 3-4 years, most of the innovations were implemented with the involvement of an external biologist expert, which has now become almost completely self-sustaining. As László Karafa emphasized, nature does not need much for life to start again, which is also proven by the fact that the number of observed species increased from 140 to almost 250 in a few years. During the process, monitoring is extremely important, but equally important emphasis is placed on education, whether it is for employees or schoolchildren.
The photos of the event are available HERE.
We launched our “Race to Zero on the ground” initiative this year, with the aim of presenting initiatives that help climate adaptation and protection, as well as the protection of biodiversity, at the place of implementation. This will also provide ideas and inspiration for other member companies to implement further projects and promote system-level changes.
On 17 September, we will visit the Pünkösdfürdő park (Budapest, District III), dreamed up and created by the Főkert (Gardening) division of BKM Nonprofit Zrt.
Thanks to our Race to Zero program sponsors:
What are the biggest challenges in achieving net zero goals? What kinds of collaborations and solutions can help meaningful progress and systemic changes? The Net Zero Advisory Board, established to promote the carbon neutrality of the Hungarian economy, had a meeting again.
After the welcoming words of Márta Irén, director of the BCSDH, as the host of the event held at the British ambassador’s residence, Matthew Kirlew, Head of Policy of British Embassy, greeted the participants and emphasized in his speech that they are still committed to the meaningful promotion of climate neutral actions in Hungary.
At the platform bringing together several interested parties, Attila Chikán Jr., the president of the Hungarian Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSDH), emphasized the importance of action in his welcome speech, and that in addition to climate protection, adaptation must also play an increasingly important role.
Csaba Kőrösi, the former president of the UN General Assembly, spoke about the beginning of a new era with solutions to our difficulties. In the period of wars and crises, it is a great challenge to achieve a sustainability turnaround and net zero goals. At the same time, more and more of the economic actors see that sustainable development, material and energy efficiency, the decreasing environmental footprint and social responsibility have become competitiveness factors.
Ürge-Vorsatz Diána, az IPCC alelnökeként felhívta a figyelmet arra, hogy megfelelő források állnak már rendelkezésre, hogy lényegi lépéseket tegyünk globálisan a helyzet megoldására, azonban jól kell ezeket a forrásokat elosztani és felhasználni. A múlt év végi COP28 Klímacsúcs pedig valóban nagy előrelépés volt, hiszen itt született döntés a fosszilis tüzelőanyagok kivezetéséről.
Diána Ürge-Vorsatz, prof. dr., as vice chari of the IPCC, drew attention to the fact that adequate resources are already available to take essential steps to solve the situation globally, but these resources must be distributed and used well. And the COP28 Climate Summit at the end of last year was really a big step forward, since it was here that the decision was made to phase out fossil fuels.
Orsolya Diófási-Kovács, PhD, Associate Professor at Corvinus University of Budapest and Péter Csipes at S.T.I. Managing Director of Hungary in his presentation on behalf of the Hungarian Logistics, Procurement and Inventory Society (MLBKT), “What can the logistics sector do to achieve net zero goals?” entitled, gave an insight into the challenges and next steps that await the sector in Hungary.
The participants agreed that the financing of the transition is a key issue. The resources are available, they just need to be realigned.
The board, which from now on meets twice a year, was represented by all its organizations and shared future goals and plans with the other members, where several points of connection and joint cooperation were outlined.
Participants of the Board meeting:
- Zsombor Barta – Parlamentary Senior Counselor, National Council for Sustainable Development
- Zsolt Bertalan – President, Smart Future Innovation Cluster
- Attila Chikán Jr – President, BCSDH
- Péter Csipes – Managing Director, S.T.I. Hungary – representative of MLBKT
- Orsolya Diófási-Kovács, PhD – Associate Professor, Budapesti Corvinus Egyetem
- Anikó Juhász – Deputy State Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture
- Csaba Kandrács Dr. – Vice President, Hungarian Central Bank
- András Kárpáti – President, Future Mobility Association
- Matthew Kirlew – Head of Policy, British Embassy
- Kocsis Kriszti – Senior Policy Officer, British Embassy
- Csaba Kőrösi – Strategic Director, Blue Planet Foundation, former President of UN General Assembly
- Irén Márta – Director, BCSDH
- Andrea Nagy – Race to Zero Project Manager, BCSDH
- Zsuzsa Némedi – Senior Trade Adviser, British Embassy
- Diána Ürge-Vorsatz, Prof. Dr. – Vice Chair, IPCC, HuPCC
- Gábor Szántó – Head of Climate Policy Department, Ministry of Energy
- Gábor Gábor – President, Hungary Green Building Council
Click here for the photo gallery of the event.
The Net Zero Advisory Board, a multi-stakeholder, cross-sector Advisory Board made up of representatives of Hungarian industry and business leaders, the government and professional organizations, was established in January 2021 at the initiative of the British Embassy and the BCSDH.
The 29th WBCSD Liaison Delegate Meeting in Montreux, surpassed all expectations with 50+ sessions and over 600 participants from 45 countries,this was the largest event in WBCSD’s history.A true testament to the relevance and the criticality of our agenda.
As a Global Network partner of the organisation, Hungary was represented by Irén Márta, Managing Director of BCSDH.
During the meeting key trends shaping corporate sustainability in 2024 were presented and delved into action-driven conversations to achieve business transformation. Participants discussed the role of innovation across value chains, explored strategies to enhance accountability and transparency, announced the extension of the Business Commission to Tackle Inequality and had the privilege of hosting the Leading Women Awards 2024 to honor exceptional female leaders in sustainability.
Peter Bakker presented five actionable steps that members can take to catalyze further progress:
- Collaborate with WBCSD Climate team to identify and implement strategies to reduce business emissions by at least 10% more by 2030.
- Engage with the Nature team to incorporate 3-5 nature-positive metrics into transition plan.
- Prioritize human rights by initiating discussions on inequality within companies boardroom.
- Conduct a board-level review of the risks and opportunities associated with climate and nature.
- Integrate sustainability into all business functions and communicate any education needs to our team.
We held our second ESG Working Group meeting on 10 April, hosted by Allianz Hungária Zrt.
The issue of sustainability has also become an inescapable part of the insurance sector, emphasized Péter Török, Director of Accounting and Finance of Allianz Hungária Zrt. Anna Ötvös, sustainability and ESG expert, gave a deeper insight into the company’s sustainability objectives.
ESG-related legislative changes are in the focus of our working group meetings. We were delighted to have Gábor Csaba Molnár, ESG Director of the Regulated Activities Supervisory Authority (SZTFH), as our guest this time. He emphasized that the Hungarian ESG Act aims to support the competitiveness of Hungarian companies, to reduce the increasing information demand of external actors, to help them prepare for ESG reporting and certification, and to ensure predictable economic planning by reflecting the legislation of the European Union and the Member States. In his presentation, he also touched on the latest developments, indicating that several amendments to the ESG Act are expected in the near future, and the related implementing regulations are being prepared.
The SZTFH commentary on the amendments to the ESG Law is available here: https://sztfh.hu/az-esg-torveny-modositasa-tamogatja-a-hazai-vallalatok-versenykepesseget-kommentar/.
In the second half of the meeting, we further explored the theme of human values, the focus of the year. How important is work in the lives of Hungarian workers? How much do we like working from home? What do workers want to learn? Sándor Baja, Managing Director of Randstad Hungary Kft., gave us a presentation on the recent, and in many cases thought-provoking, results of the Randstad Workmonitor 2024 survey.
Companies can do most to reduce inequality through their employees. Andras Iljicsov, Managing Director of Spreadmonitor Ltd., invited Sara Pásztor, Managing Director of Skilly, to the meeting, who presented a new opportunity for participants in the employment of people with disabilities.
What is a life-long manager like? How to focus on people as an asset? What can managers learn from their subordinates? Zoltán Gazsi, Managing Director of Eisberg Hungary Kft., discussed these questions with Irén Márta, Director of BCSDH, in the context of her recently published book “Emberszemlélet”.
Does EU and national ESG regulation promote corporate sustainability? – asked Irén Márta, Managing Director of BCSDH, in her presentation at the conference “Business without ESG?”, organised by the Market and Profit Conference Centre and BKIK on 4 April 2024.
In her introduction, the Managing Director briefly talked about the EU Taxonomy Regulation which aims to help investors and financiers make better decisions, and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and then went into detail about the domestic implementation of the CSRD and CSDDD (supplier due diligence directive), the ESG Act. She summarised the responsibilities of companies under the Act, which will be more precisely defined when government regulations are issued, and also mentioned the accreditation of software for data collection, certifiers and qualifiers, and training.
She concluded on an optimistic note, responding positively to her question that reporting and data collection will provide data and information to business leaders that will unlock new opportunities and also help them to become more profitable, thus moving forward on the path to sustainable business management.
A third of the world’s workforce earns less than is necessary for their living. Eliminating the living wage gap could positively impact $4.5 trillion of global GDP. “Reducing inequality requires coordinated action from all stakeholders, including companies. Initiating change requires the recognition of humans as assets in the value-creation processes of companies,” – emphasised Sonja van Lieshout, President of the World Employment Confederation Europe and Global Head of Public Affairs at Randstad, at the Business Breakfast and Professional Forum of the Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hungary (BCSDH) held on March 26, which focused on Human Value. The participants were welcomed by Holczinger Norbert, Head of the Sustainable Finance Division at the National Bank of Hungary, the host of the day.
In addition to climate change and biodiversity loss, growing inequalities are our world’s most urgent sustainability challenge. Growing inequalities have become systemic risks globally, threatening not only individual communities or companies but entire economies and societies.
“Inequalities are an obstacle to social and economic progress, which also affects the performance of companies. At the same time, inequalities are also a consequence of our systems, which we can change. However, this requires the highest level of commitment, immediate action, and systemic change. We believe that the business sector must play a leading role in achieving this desired rapid change,” – said Attila Chikán Jr., President of BCSDH, in his opening speech.
“Companies can do most to reduce inequalities through their employees. Social innovation is key to moving forward, which means the holistic implementation of new solutions for working, learning and social protection for the benefit of workers, employers and society in general. This will lead to future-proof labour markets that work for all,” — emphasised Sonja van Lieshout, who was invited to speak by Randstad Hungary’s professional support.
In a closed professional forum following the presentation, business leaders and corporate, academic and civil experts discussed the current state of play and challenges associated with Human Value, such as the risk to business created by polarisation and loss of trust, creating value by valuing human capital, and the links between physical and mental health and efficiency, and explored several business best practices and solutions. These three main topics were led by Attila Kelemen, CEO of ProSelf Zrt, Sándor Baja, Managing Director of Randstad Hungary and Gréta Nagy, Managing Director of Dandelion Kft.
The insights from the professional forum, including the challenges and enabling factors that were identified, will be further processed during executive roundtable discussions in May. Our goal is to provide recommendations for companies on the topic of human value, which will be presented at the BCSDH Business Lunch in October. It is important to encourage companies to act in this area and assist them in taking the most important steps.
We hereby thank our Time to Transform 2030 sponsor:
The highly-attended Race to Zero Working Group on 7 March, hosted by the Bay Zoltán Research Centre, raised a number of exciting questions.
First, Dr Barbara Botos, Ambassador at Large for Climate of Energy Ministry, reported on the COP28 Climate Summit, which she of course attended. She confirmed that a historic agreement has indeed been reached with the decision on transition away from fossil fuels, but that much remains to be done to really achieve climate neutrality. Her presentation gave participants an overview of the achievements and challenges ahead.
On behalf of the Bay Zoltán Research Centre, Péter Chrabák, Head of the Circular Economy Research Unit, first presented the company’s unique research activities focused on sustainability, ranging from materials science, agriculture and energy to waste.
Dr. Ádám Vida, the company’s division director, presented projects that specifically enable the reduction of carbon emissions, including synthetic fuels, green steel and a new generation of materials for battery cells.
Afterwards, Andrea Nagy, BCSDH‘s Race to Zero project manager, spoke about this year’s programme plan and presented the newly published “CEO Guide to Climate-Related Corporate Performance and Accountability System (CPAS)“, a publication developed by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, which is the missing link between the financial system and business transformation on climate change.
The event was chaired and moderated by Irén Márta, Director of BCSDH.
Participants of the Circular Economy Platform’s off-site working group meeting explored the Tesco Sustainability Trail at the company’s Budaörs store.
At the event, Nóra Hevesi, Communication Lead, and Rita Frang, Head of Real Estate Services in Hungary, presented the participants the results of their sustainability efforts across six different areas. These areas included climate protection and energy efficiency, reuse and recycling, packaging, healthy choices, and more. The results of the collaboration for food rescue were presented by András Nagygyörgy, Director of External Relations at the Hungarian Food Bank Association, and Kirill Perepelica, Co-founder of Munch.
A WWF report titled “The Plate of Change – A diet for human health and the future of the planet” was recently completed, with key findings presented by Rita Rezneki, expert at WWF Hungary.
As closing, Irén Márta, Director of BCSDH presented the Circular Economy Platform’s program planned for 2024, which includes a significant focus on introducing international experiences to Hungary.
Additionally, participants had the opportunity to share their own experiences on the topic with each other.
Thanks to the sponsors of the Circular Economy Platform in 2024:
